WARNING: Bears are very active on both sides of Kearsarge Pass,
and bear cannisters are required for all backpackers leaving this trailhead.
A friend said his food was stolen by a bear on the run while he was eating at the pass.

Take the Onion Valley Road (aka Market Street) west from the center of Independence
(waypoint INDEPN and the only traffic light in town). Continue west past the turn-off
to Shepherd Pass (waypoint INDEPJ). About 13 miles from town you go past an umarked
dirt road going uphill to the right (waypoint KSRGTH), where there is free unimproved
camping and one of the trailheads for Kearsarge Peak. You'll need a good 4WD to get
up the very short connector road, but it's quiet, free, and uncrowded most of the time.

Matt Hengst adds in 2012: Last time I was out at Onion Valley a few months back there were a few
rather large rocks placed across the entrance to the Kearsarge Peak
trailhead. I haven't managed to get a hold of anyone to confirm it
officially but it sure looks like the rangers closed it down.

Matt Hengst adds in 2013: The dirt road up to Kearsarge Trailhead (the bivy next to Onion Valley) has been cleared of rocks. Looks like you can drive up it again.

To reach the main Onion Valley trailhead (for Golden Trout Lake, Kearsarge Pass,
and Robinson Lake / University Pass) follow the pavement all the way to the parking
circle (about 3/4 mile past the informal campsite mentioned above) at waypoint ONIONT.
There are pay campsites here, and sometimes the rangers will let you sleep next to
your car in the backpacker parking area. There are pit toilets, water spigots, and a
couple of bear boxes. The toilets and spigots are locked off-season and the bear boxes
are always over-full.

FYI, the Kearsarge Pass and Golden Trout trails start separately, but
almost meet near waypoint GOLDT1. The Kearsarge Pass trail is twice as long.
I was once chased off the shorter trail by a ranger who said it was
only for stock, but since then they've admitted it's for humans also.

The trail to Kearsarge Peak (GPS Route KEARSARGE PEAK)
starts from the rough parking area
at waypoint KRSGTH (described above). There are amazingly deep sandy slopes
here, so it's easy to forget the trail and run straight down. You can
climb Kearsarge Peak as a loop by going toward Golden Trout Lake on
trail, going over the summit, and returning via the sandy switchbacks.

The trail over Kearsarge Pass (GPS Route KEARSARGE PASS)
starts at the sign west of the toilets,
near waypoint ONIONT, then turns west and climbs past several lakes. It is
where most people go from Onion Valley. I'm not advocating cutting the trail,
but Roper's guidebook notes "The upper part of the trail is so well graded and
obviously designed for pack animals that hikers have made major shortcuts.
This ecologically unsound practice is quite obviously the common man's reaction
to horse trails." Well said. In 2007 the western side of Kearsarge Pass
was re-graded to make it flatter and longer also. They went overboard, and
at least one switchback CLIMBS through sandy talus on the way down to Bullfrog Lake.

The trail to Golden Trout Lake (GPS Route GOLDEN TROUT LK)
starts just east of the toilets,
near waypoint ONIONT. The trail to Golden Trout disappears under a
boulder landslide and you'll have some rock hopping to do on your way
to Dragon or Kearsarge - there are use trails on both sides of the stream,
and most people end up crossing once or twice.

The trail up to Robinson Lake and University Pass (GPS Route UNIVERSITY PASS)
is almost unsigned:
Park near ONIONT, Walk into the campground, and stay left until you reach
waypoint UNIVTH where a wide trail crosses the stream and heads east before turning south.
Before the stream there is a faint use trail that goes straight up.
It's worth fighting across the stream because the newer trail is far better.
According to Will MollandSimms,
"The trail begins in campsite 8 of the Onion Valley campground. There is a
sign that points the trail going through a creek, but being the questioning
fellow that I am I decided not to follow the creek but go up the faint
trail more to the right of the sign. My mistake as this trail is very steep
and goes straight up the slope." University Pass is a huge shortcut
to Center Basin, but the rock is very loose and steep. Remember that the
pass actually has a south and north face, not east and west, so snow
conditions will be extremely different before and after the pass. The
north side can be over 40 degrees depending on how the wind shapes the snow.